fairy justice

If you've been to the Renaissance Festival you know how this works - it's called Vegetable Justice. Some smart-alec sits in a stockade and insults people as they attempt to whap him in the face with overrripe tomatoes. It's Punk's favorite part of the day. So, we make our way over to the stockade. Punk is plotting snappy retorts and nasty comebacks.

When we arrive, there is a huge crowd, but nobody is stepping up to throw. And of all the people standing there, this idiot goes for the easy prey - the kid. But it's not even Punk he picks on (who is ready and willing to have a go), nooooooo - this guy picks the one person in the audience guaranteed to be devastated by a cross-eyed glance, the one kid who tears up at the mere thought of being teased, the one kid who gripped my hand all the way across the field and made me promise that this guy wouldn't single her out.

Of course he picks Kooka.

She is dressed in her Renaissance-fairy-finery: ballet dress, crown, glittery wings, and painted face (and actually had just won the children's costume contest). She looks pretty cute.

"Hey," tomato head shouts, "Yeah - you! What are you the UGLY fairy?! You'd make a good one! Oooooh - are you gonna cry?"

Kooka's eyes are huge - she looks from me, back to him, like she can't even believe this is happening. I bend down to pick her up, to tell her it's OK - even the crowd is quiet - tomato head has gone too far.

But then she leans forward and shouts through the silence, "Bring it on, sucker!!!"

There is tremendous laughter and applause, as an assistant lifts her over the fence and hands her five tomatoes.

She's got her jaw set and her hands on her hips. Tomato head says, "Ooooh. I'm really afraid of a four-year-old!"

Grabbing a soggy tomato she says, "I'm five, and you should be afraid."

And although she didn't manage to hit him - she did manage to get an apology and a hint of respect - which is more than anybody else got.